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Formed in 1976 in the vanguard of British punk, The Clash would soon become the most iconic rock band of their era, a symbol of intelligent protest and stylish rebellion in the turbulent years of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Just as importantly, they were to become unflinching musical pioneers, integrating first militant reggae, then dub, funk, jazz and hip hop into their music, which has helped to make them one of the most respected and sampled bands by modern DJs and dance musicians. Eventually cracking the Top 10 in America in 1982, before splitting three years later, they were to leave behind an extraordinary recorded legacy comprising four single albums - ‘The Clash’ (1977), ‘Give ’Em Enough Rope’ (1978), Combat Rock (1982) and ‘Cut The Crap’ (1985) – a magnificent double in their legendary ‘London Calling’ (1979) voted album of the decade by Rolling Stone magazine and a controversial, experimental and musically diverse triple – ‘Sandinista!’ (1980). The Clash had sparked into life in June 1976 when west London art school drop-outs Paul Simonon (bass) and Mick Jones (guitar) approached Joe Strummer, the singer with an outfit called The 101’ers, to join their new group. Guided by The Clash’s unorthodox and free-thinking manager Bernard Rhodes, the group created the English punk movement with the Sex Pistols. The band’s manifesto was outlined in an early NME interview: “We’re anti-Fascist, we’re anti-violence, we’re anti-racist and we’re pro-creative.” Rhodes encouraged the band to confront the issues of the day and write about the things that affected them personally – and The Clash rose to the challenge, crafting razor-sharp vignettes of the seedy, edgy world of inner London’s streets in the mid-’70s, referencing tower blocks, drugs, boredom, racism, violence, cheap thrills, trouble with the police… Their first single, ‘White Riot’, was written after Strummer and Simonon had participated in the Notting Hill riots in August 1976, in which blacks fought police in the streets around Paul’s old school.
Condition:NEW. Brand New Factory Sealed
TRACK LISTINGS
1. White Riot
2. Remote Control
3. Complete Control
4. Clash City Rockers
5. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
6. Tommy Gun
7. English Civil War
8. I Fought the Law
9. London Calling
10. Train in Vain
11. Bankrobber
12. The Call Up
13. Hitsville U.K.
14. The Magnificent Seven
15. This Is Radio Clash
16. Know Your Rights
17. Rock the Casbah
18. Should I Stay or Should I Go
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